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April 16, 2013

DIY Blackout Curtains and the Nursery Update

Random Sidenote before we start: I'm bringing back the "water cooler" chit chat at the end of the posts, so feel free to chime in. Thanks!

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There's still lots to be done in the nursery. I have half of it painted and half is still brown. I have a lot of organizing to do as well in there. However, there is some progress being made. The curtains are up. I thought I'd shop you how I like to do black out curtains for nurseries. It's crazy simple.

So you can buy this black out fabric at fabric stores. I've seen lots of tutorials on how to sew them as lining into your curtain panels. However, I say don't do it! These are the same panels I've used in every nursery.....

....because I just clip them in behind the curtain panels. They don't even have to be as long as the curtains. (The curtains are floor length but the panels just past the window.) Then when I redecorate I can use them again and again.

You don't even see them sticking out from the curtains, but they do their job.

So we have 2 painted walls now and curtains. Yay!

I've also added more of the hot air balloons (that I posted about HERE.) I have a plan for what will go over the crib as well...but it's not done yet.

And I'm loving how much bigger the space feels now that it's white and airy.

I can't wait till it's all done. And on a random note, here's a little outfit I bought her. I've been lucky and haven't had to buy hardly anything (due to hand-me-downs from a sister and a friend). However, I have still bought a couple of things. Teeny tiny jeggings? Ha! I couldn't resist.

And that's all for now. The bathroom is about 90% done now, so that'll be the next finished project you'll see.

Thanks for reading.

- So my husband and I just finished all of White Collar and I'm going through withdrawals. I love that show so much. I hear it starts up again around June, though, so I won't have to wait too long.

- It's been almost 4 years since I've had a baby. Are there any have-to-have things you guys recommend? I've heard the muslin blankets are awesome and there's some weird snot-sucking device people rave about? Do any of you know what I'm talking about?

52 comments:

Yes the Nose Frieda!!! Check it out on amazon - it is amazing for clearing a clogged nose!!! The other thing I loved having with my 2nd that wasnt around with my 1st was the Rock and Play Sleeper - I never let her sleep in it (heard some bad reviews about that) but its super light so you can move it all around the house and even out to the deck - its awesome!!

love how the nursery is coming together - I may have to use those colors when I swtiched my daughter ot her big girl room! so pretty!

Another great thing that started is they have baby food in pouches that they can suck from. They even have them in organic. Perfect for when you are on the go. Of course this is for when the baby is older but they are great. Love White Collar also!

It's not "new" but for my second baby I got an Ergo carrier. So much better than the bjorn or the Moby as Baby gets bigger. I've even carried my 3 year old in it! And your room is so cute (well going to be!). :)

I second the Ergo and baby food in pouches, awesome!! Oh, there are several other carrier brands similar in design that are great too (angelpack, actionbaby carrier, beco, boba, mei tai). I could go on and on about being able to babywear in a good, comfortable carrier. Love it, made my life 1000 times easier with two kids.

I found some muslin blankets on amazon from mylittlelegs (cute leg warmers too) and my boy loves to cuddle them.

Yeah, the snot sucker is a pretty cool little invention. The bulb syringes just never seems to have enough suction to do any good. I bought the one that uses kleenex as a filter so I don't have to worry about keeping filters stocked.

Seriously, White Collar is such a great show! I love Burn Notice too, it's on Netflix. If you haven't watched it you MUST! Especially if you like White Collar I think you would like Burn Notice too. :)

I love my rock'n'play. It's a nice height for having baby next to you but also extremely portable around the house. I got a Skip Hop toy bar that fits across it perfectly. My baby is still within the size limits but a little too crazy for it now, but it's great for him to play in while we eat dinner.

I second the muslin swaddle blankets, baby food pouches, and baby wraps. It was 4 years between mine too and surprisingly there was so much more available! Gonna have to look into that nose sucker... that sounds amazing! Oh ok... I have another one.... misting saline nasal spray! One squirt and it doesn't make my little gagger gag at all!

I didn't even know they sold blackout material. I need that for my room. I'm not a fan of snot suckers but we love Boogie Wipes (saline soaked wipes) and I still use them for my girls who are 3 and almost 6. way more gentle and non invasive.

I love how the room is looking so far! As far as the muslin blankets, I never had any and I did fine. My baby was NOT a swaddler, so it just depends on what she likes. We used sleep sacks (like a sleeping bag with sleeves) instead, and he still wears one every night (he's almost 1). Carter's makes some, and I found them at kohls. We ended up making bigger ones as he grew. I did have some small 1 layer flannel receiving type blankets (made by carters), and I Loved them. I had a summer baby as well, and it was great at church and in cold buildings to cover him up a little bit. We just used the regular blue nose aspirator from the hospital, and did fine with it.We finished White Collar season 3 on Netflix, and I'm totally bummed that the 4th season isn't being streamed. Were you able to watch later seasons online somehow? If so, I'd love to know how! We've been watching warehouse 13 lately, and it's super weird but we really like it. (It takes about 5 episodes to get into it)And there I go again leaving long comments!

We love black-out lining too... especially since our AZ apartment is western facing, it gets SUPER hot in the rooms without the blackout. And White Collar, yeah, I about died at the end of the season. Peter is my favorite! He reminds me of my husband, I guess. :)

I love cloth diapering! It is not as bad as you might think at first, but it has saved us money. You can find PUL fabric at JoAnns and Hobby Lobby to make your own covers and prefold diapers for the inside are not too expensive to buy or you could even make your own soakers. (I am a busy mom of 4 and there was a 3.5 year gap between #3 and #4.) On the muslin blanket note...follow danamadeit and make your own. So much more character and more affordable. They also make great bibs and burpies.

If you're in the market for a diaper pail I 100% recommend the munchkin arm & hammer baking soda one. You can buy refill bags at Target and we've never ever had a problem with smell unlike our friends who've tried both the diaper genie and just about every other option out there.

I third (fourth, fifth?) the food pouches! So amazingly convenient and a great way to get some veggies! (they have them in awesome combinations like spinach, raspberry, and greek yogurt was one of my daughter's favorites!!)

I'm sure you have seen these, but milestone onesies. I made a set for a new baby in my family, I printed out 1 month, 2 month, etc. in cute designs and ironed them on "fingers crossed" the correct corresponding onesie size. Then each month they put that onesie on and take a picture. I did this, but just had my son in a diaper. :)

yup: guaze blankets, single layer knit blankets, food pouches (and the screw on spoons!- makes feeding at church/on-the-go a breeze) I've wanted to try the reuasable/dishwasher safe ones. car mirror (get a break-resistant/locker mirror for diy). And I wish I had a snap and go stroller.

I had my third baby last July and I had a bunch of those gauze swaddle blankets. She loved being swaddled, but they were pretty stretchy and she got out of them SO easily. They were all pretty much useless after 4 months. Some were stretchier than others. I have loved the Nose Freida too. It's a million times better than the blue bulb. And she slept in the Rock and Play for the first 2 months. I had a C section and it was much easier to use than lifting her in the crib. Plus you can move it around so easily. I'm so excited for your new little one.

I second the boogie wipes! My 18 month old screams and runs when he sees the snot sucker - it seems to tickle his nose and I can't blame him for finding that annoying on top of having a cold. Plus you can take the boogie-wipes anywhere! We do have friends that swore by the snot sucker though. Like anything I suppose it depends on your child.

We love our ergo! We bought the sport, but I wish we had bought one of the options with a bit more padding.

Another item that was great was the Go-Pod - it gave us a safe place to put him when we were busy but he wanted to be close to us and it was easy to take to friend's and relatives' houses that were not baby-proofed (we have a very inquisitive climber for a child). It was also perfect when we went on a cruise (he was 6-months). I loved how we could clip different toys onto it and I used it for as long as possible.

Final item: the inexpensive stroller that fits just an infant car seat but has a big basket underneath. I bought mine 1/2 price by getting it 2nd-hand and was able to sell it again for the same amount. You have so much stuff to carry with a newborn that it was nice to have a simple stroller that I didn't have to fight to remember to open and safely attach the infant seat to on those severely sleep deprived days where I absolutely had to get groceries.

I swear by the baby sleeping bags, in particular the grobags brand, they have different thickness, still breathable and come with a temperature gauge for room and instructions on clothing for the baby to sleepin with that particular grobag according to the temperature of the room. Cheaper brands didn't breathe and over heated my kids - so I stuck with the real grobags. Means as they grow you don't have to worry about them getting cold for kicking of the blankets, or getting stuck under blankets. mine stayed in them until they were 2 years old (you keep buying bigger ones). they even have ones with holes in the spots to put car seat harness thru so they can be put into their grobag before going in the car and easily transfered to bed when you get home.They are the ne thing I would recooomend, mine didn't like swaddling, the second one especially - he was sleeping with his arms above his head from day 2, I think he was squashed inside and couldn't wait to stretch out (8pd 13).

A decent carrier (Ergo, Beco or Manduca - try them on and see what is most comfortable for you) and swaddle up wraps (lovetodream.com.au) were my must have baby items. And although not an item my biggest parenting revelation was baby led weaning - so much easier than spoon feeding and purees - do a bit of reading and see if its for you :)

Aden and Anais muslin swaddling blankets is the brand that I've seen. OH MY GOSH! I just had my 5th baby and I'd never tried them before. I friend loaned me some and I immediately bought some more because my baby doesn't get hot in them. My kids (especially in the Summer) always woke up sweaty from naps but those blankets stopped that, and I live in Southern AZ. Good luck with your girl and congrats!

Moby wrap...make one yourself and save money. 6.5 yards of knit trimmed to about 24" wide and tapered at the end.Put an applique or ribbon on the middle to mark it for easier tying. Each cut of fabric will make two wraps, so save the other one for a baby shower or sell it to pay for the cost of fabric. If you use a Joann's coupon you'll make two wraps for less than $40. Another product I LOVE is littlegreenpouch.com. Make your own babyfood and use these pouches, or fill with smoothies, or pour jars of babyfood in there for easier feeding during travel. And lastly....LOVE my bumbo. I don't have the safety straps because I think the recall is due to dumb parenting rather than faulty product. I love putting my baby on the counter while I make dinner right next to her. It's a life saver for whining and pulling on my leg while cooking.

Jessica Running With Scissors made some really clever sleep sacks that keeps the baby from getting uncovered,also opens from the bottom for easy night time diaper changes that lets the rest of the baby stay dressed/covered. you might like to ck her site Running with Scissors.

I loved jeggings on my daughter. All the cute and match everything of jeans, with the soft and easy of leggings. You need at least 4 of the muslin swaddle blankets (which really do everything). Get the 44" square ones for swaddling. Bambinoland makes really nice ones and if you follow on FB they have some really great sales. Nosefriend is genius.

Can't wait to see her nursery finished. I am shopping this afternoon for quilt binding and some nursery decor for my third, who is coming in August.

I need to check out this Nose Frida thing! Esp. since I saw on pinterest what one pinner found when she cut open one of those boogey bulbs you get from the hospital *ick...*

We also received these bibs (Linking to Amazon, though I've found them a few dollars cheaper at Babies R Us...http://www.amazon.com/Dex-Baby-Dura-Crum-Catcher/dp/B003MZCSJG/ref=sr_1_4?s=baby-products&ie=UTF8&qid=1366225394&sr=1-4&keywords=bib+catcher ) and they really did the best job at catching my boy's food as he began to eat independently. I recently switched to the Baby Bjorn version but he hates the way the hard plastic feels on his neck. The Dex Baby bibs are a lot more comfortable and he didn't try to pull them off. The only downside is that they're harder to clean (the front is great for wiping down but the back doesn't wash or dry as easily and when they're really old they begin to crack...so not as long-lasting as other crumb-catchers. Still, I'm comtemplating going back to them just because my son has started to boycott bibs altogether after his experience with the Baby Bjorn bibs! haha..

Hello! Just a quick note, I came across this blog which shows you how to blow up ballons with vinegar and baking soda! I thought it might be an interesting activity for your summer school! Here's the link! http://www.momto2poshlildivas.com/2012/01/blow-it-up-exploring-gas-with-balloons.html

Woombie- I loved the muslin blankets (technically its more cotton gauze then muslin......) but they do stop being effective as swaddle blankets when there is more movement- but that is when I purchased the woombie and have loved it since. I bought the larger convertible size and she is still using it (almost 1 year)

The Wooombie freaked my youngest out BUT Aiden and Anais swaddle blankets are the best ever. As if you needed any more affirmation. Be warned, though, that the "generic" version at Target is smaller than the "real" ones at B R Us. My 21 month old still LOVES her and snuggles one every night.

I can't say enough about the rock and play sleeper. It's more portable and comfortable, at least in my opinion, than the old pack and play. My little one was running a campaign for world's angriest baby and it was her happy place :)

Would you mind sharing where you found those gorgeous curtains? (Or the fabric you used to make them?) Perhaps you already posted about them and I missed it, but they are so beautiful! And perfect for the girl's nursery I have in mind for my daughter on the way. Thanks!!

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